UPDATE: One more to go for the Danvers boys basketball team

Then at the TD Garden two days later, it was another cliffhanger, this time against Martha’s Vineyard, the Division 3 South champs. Danvers seemingly was in control early, and the score reflected that after one, 17-10. But at halftime, they knew it wasn’t going to be easy leaving the Garden with a win. Martha...

The NCAA defines March Madness succinctly in terms of survive and advance. It doesn’t matter if a team wins by 40 or by a mere point they still move on to the next round that much closer to its ultimate destination of a championship.

The basketball Falcons, the Division 3 defending state champions, truly understand that premise. The early rounds might have been one-sided games that didn’t require much effort after the first half, but they were certainly tested in the last two games, but they still found a way to stay alive in their mission to repeat.

The Falcons escaped past Wayland to win the North title again last Saturday in a game that came down to the wire, before senior reserve guard Jake Cawlina buried a three-point shot to put his teammates ahead for good. They ended up winning by five, 57-52. But the only thing fans will remember in years to come was the sight of the Danvers boys clutching another Division 3 North trophy at Lowell’s Tsongas Arena.

Then at the TD Garden two days later, it was another cliffhanger, this time against Martha’s Vineyard, the Division 3 South champs. Danvers seemingly was in control early, and the score reflected that after one, 17-10. But at halftime, they knew it wasn’t going to be easy leaving the Garden with a win. Martha’s Vineyard came back to tie up the proceedings heading into the second half at 24 apiece. But Danvers was able to hang on to win the close contest, 50-47.

Senior forward Izak Browne made the Falcons squirm for a while, coming up with 14 of Martha’s Vineyard’s 24 first-half points, but with some halftime adjustments by Danvers coach John Walsh Browne cooled down, and only scored three more points to end up with 17 in the game.

“[Martha’s Vineyard] is very big and athletic, and they killed us on the glass early, but then we went to box-and-one in the second half that took away their inside game,” Walsh said. “We just didn’t shoot well, and our free throw shooting was atrocious (11 missed attempt).”

Martha’s Vineyard coach Mike Joyce agrees. “They took away our interior passing in the second half, and made us shoot from the perimeter,” Joyce said.

The Falcons had what appeared to be a safe five-point lead with 16.9 seconds to go, but a couple of missed free throws gave Martha’s Vineyard some life until Nick McKenna sank his fouls shots to get his teammates to the mythical half-century mark that ensured victory, and a trip to Worcester to defend their title Saturday against Smith Academy at the DCU Center (12:30 p.m.).

The usual Danvers suspects contributed to the offense — Nick McKenna (11), Nick Bates (12) and Dan Connors (10), plus there was a clutch hoop in the lane by Eric Martin (6) late in the game.

After Browne’s 17 points, Jack Roberts was their only other double-digit scorer with 12

Danvers senior guard Nick Bates wasn’t worried that they couldn’t maintain the lead. “We have played in a lot of close games, and we know how to keep our composure to finish them out,” Bates said.

Junior guard Kieran Beck is another confident Falcon. “We were confident, because of our experience in being here last year,” he said. “In our last two games, our defense has been great.”

Beck added that the moment of truth is now upon them, something they have been focusing on since the beginning of the season. He’s among the reserves that have played pivotal roles in recent tournament games, and to Beck it’s just about preparedness.

“We’re always ready to go, and do what we can to help out the team, when [Walsh] sends us into the game,” Beck said.

The last two years opposing teams have always been wary of Danvers, and Joyce sums up their concerns. “They’re a patient team that makes few mistakes,” he said.

There’s only one more game to go, and come Saturday night hopefully they will be reaping the benefits of another state championship.